COLORADO: DENVER (AP) - Justin Morneau wears Larry Walker's old number and is stepping in for Todd Helton.
Just so it's clear, though: He doesn't expect to be the next Walker and certainly isn't trying to make Colorado Rockies fans forget all about Helton, the everyday first baseman in the Mile High City since 1997.
Morneau can only be himself, a slick fielder who's a four-time All-Star and former AL MVP.
That's not too bad, either.
Still, the Rockies wouldn't mind if Morneau channeled a little bit of those two Colorado icons to help them get back to the postseason. But that's a lot of cleats to fill, especially when it comes to Helton, the franchise's leader in virtually every offensive category.
Morneau's goals are more modest: Slide seamlessly into to this potent lineup, one that includes good friend and reigning NL batting champion Michael Cuddyer, along with Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.
The 32-year-old Morneau knows the comparisons to Helton are inevitable. No. 17 spent 17 seasons in purple pinstripes, endearing himself to the community. The team will honor Helton on Aug. 17 when they retire his number (although Helton's first send-off will be hard to top, when the club gave him a horse in his last home game).
''From the outside looking in, it looks like I'm coming in to replace him,'' said Morneau, who wears No. 33 because of Walker, his boyhood idol. ''But that's not my thought process. My thought process is to just come in and be me and do what I can do.''
Cuddyer thinks Morneau will fit in just fine.
''If you think about the guy you're replacing, you're already not doing yourself a good service,'' said Cuddyer, who was teammates with Morneau in Minnesota. ''He respects (Helton), but he also understands he has to go out there and be himself.''

MILWAUKEE: MILWAUKEE (AP) - Two pitches into his spring training return, the Brewers' most important player tried to prove his point.
Home run, Ryan Braun.
Now let's see how he fares when the games count.
Bolstered by the return of Braun from a 65-game doping suspension and the signing of free-agent starter Matt Garza, Milwaukee enters the 2014 season hoping it has the pieces to contend again in the competitive NL Central.
Braun has vowed to return to his 2011 MVP form.
''I think the expectation is to have an opportunity to compete to get back to the playoffs. That's our goal, I think it's realistic,'' Braun said during spring training in Phoenix.
Staying healthy would help, too. Besides Braun's suspension, injuries sapped much of the Brewers' power last year with projected 3-4-5 hitters Braun, Aramis Ramirez and Corey Hart each missing various lengths of time. Hart never played because of a knee injury.
Hart is gone, but Braun and Ramirez are back and bolstered by new team cornerstones who emerged last season in Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura and Jonathan Lucroy.

The Colorado Rockies had a typical performance last weekend when the Milwaukee Brewers paid them a visit. They scored often, were let down by their starting rotation and struggled defensively in suffering a three-game sweep.

Colorado's most glaring miscue in that series was a bizarre bases-clearing wild pitch by Christian Friedrich in his season debut, and he'll get a chance to atone for that mistake Thursday night when the stumbling Rockies and Brewers open a four-game set at Miller Park.

Colorado (35-43) leads the NL in batting average (.283), homers (95) and runs (395), but it is last in the majors with a 5.13 ERA from its starters and has committed 52 errors to rank among the worst in the NL.

The Rockies batted .336, hit five homers and scored 19 runs last weekend, but their starters had a 10.05 ERA in the three games and the team made four errors in Saturday's 9-4 loss.

Three of those errors helped Milwaukee (48-32) score four times in the second, and the Brewers added another four runs in a wild third inning.

They had the bases loaded with pitcher Wily Peralta, who will again oppose Friedrich on Thursday, at the plate. On a 1-2 count, Friedrich threw a wild pitch that was recovered by catcher Michael McKenry, but he tossed it out of Friedrich's reach as he covered home.

Aramis Ramirez scored, and Mark Reynolds came home from second base as the ball rolled toward Milwaukee's dugout. Jean Segura then came all the way around from first to score when Friedrich walked toward the field with his head down after picking up the ball.

The left-hander, who was 1-8 with a 7.89 ERA in 13 starts for Triple-A Colorado Springs, allowed nine runs - four earned - in six innings. He went 5-8 with a 6.17 ERA in 16 starts for the Rockies in 2012 before missing last year with a back injury.

"Didn't give Friedrich a lot of help early on," manager Walt Weiss said. "Some extra outs made it tough on him. Thought he did a nice job and could've got out of there with a much better line."

Colorado's sloppy play helped Peralta (8-5, 3.02 ERA) win a career-best fourth straight start, and the Brewers have given him plenty of support this month after struggling to do so for a long stretch.

Peralta went 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in his first four starts, with Milwaukee handing him an average of 6.57 runs. The right-hander posted a 3.02 ERA in his next seven outings, but he had a 1-5 record because the Brewers totaled six runs.

They matched that output with Peralta on the mound June 5, and he's received 8.31 runs of support during his win streak.

Milwaukee totaled two runs in dropping the first two of a three-game series against visiting Washington before Scooter Gennett had a grand slam and five RBIs in Wednesday's 9-2 victory.

"Definitely a big bounce-back day," outfielder Khris Davis, who homered and drove in three runs, told MLB's official website. "... It's just nice to pull it together and grind it out today and have a big win. Every win counts."

Colorado jumped out to a 5-1 lead Wednesday at home against St. Louis, but the Cardinals scored eight times over the last five innings to pull out a 9-6 win and hand the Rockies their eighth loss in nine games.

"We're in a tough stretch, no doubt about it, but the resolve hasn't wavered at all," Weiss told MLB's website. "None of it is coming easy."